On TikTok, the war in Ukraine alternates between tragedy, humor and disinformation

The war in Ukraine has become the first of the TikTok era, a social network where the conflict is portrayed both through harrowing videos of artillery strikes, advice on cooking in bomb shelters, and misinformation about the Russian invasion. .

Since Russia invaded UkraineMillions of people have tuned in to the hugely popular social networking service to get news and insights on what’s happening on the battlefield.

This did not go unnoticed by the US rulers, who organized a video call to inform the “influencers” of TikTok on the details of the war, according to posts on the social network.

“Numerous people turned to digital creators to find out something about the invasion of Ukraine”said a tweet on Friday from Gen Z for Changea non-profit organization focused on the use of social networks.

“Yesterday we joined @WhiteHouse and @WHNSC for a briefing on US strategic goals in Ukraine to better debunk misinformation”he added, referring to a meeting of the National Security Council of the White House.

in the account of Martha Vasyuta what predominates now are the images of soldiers and the ravages of war. trapped in Londonthe 20-year-old Ukrainian exchange student uses TikTok to share impressions of the tragedy suffered by the inhabitants of their country of origin.

“My mission is to spread information; not stop talking about it, because it really matters”said this economics student from Lviv whose videos accumulate millions of visits.

Valeria Shashenok stayed in the city Chernihivnortheast of Kyivand went on to use the English language to broaden the reach of his often surreal TikTok posts about the war.

In one of them he shows how to cook borscht in a bomb shelter. In another, she walks through the rubble while listening to a Rihanna remix.

The 20-year-old photographer is among those who have not given up the playful nature of the videos, considered a trademark of this social network that has more than a billion users.

“I try to keep the humor, because it is my nature”said Rimma, a 23-year-old TikTok creator, who asked that her middle name not be revealed. “I am living this trauma, my life is ruined and I have nothing left but irony”.

Her TikToks include a clip of her in a basement on odessain which he states that today when Ukrainians say they are going to go for a walk, they actually mean moving to the nearest shelter.

It also highlights that the line between what is fun and what is painful has been blurred, given the suffering and fear that afflict so many. But the appetite for wartime TikTok content seems growing when you consider how subscribers to TikTok accounts are increasing. Vasyuta and Shashenok.

youthful cheek

If TikTok has been characterized by something, it is the spontaneity and impudence of its users, mostly young people.

On United Stateswhere the members of the “Generation Z”born in the late 1990s, eschew traditional television, online platforms like TikTok are the main news sources.

“I hope that the children who watch this war unfold on TikTok will oppose the war (and) realize its horrors and dangers”said American high school history teacher Chris Dier, who is also a creator on TikTok. “What I don’t want is for them to desensitize and normalize war”.

Young TikTok users are also “bombed” with propaganda and probably need help navigating, Dier said.

TikTok reported that it has increased resources to detect and counter “emerging threats” and the “harmful misinformation” on the platform.

On March 6, the subsidiary of ByteDancebased in Chinasuspended loading videos on Russia in reaction to a new law that criminalizes “discredit” to the Russian army.

The flow of pro-Russian messages has noticeably decreased on TikTok, where the most popular Russian account is the state-backed news agency RIA Novostiknown for false or debunked claims.